A Thread of Hope
by ReconditeAgony
Summary: ONESHOT. A minute after being told about his missing sister's possible fate, Clay Miller finds it all too hard to accept. However, he isn't ready to give up so easily as he leaves the older woman's house, holding onto a new form of determination to find his missing sister, alive.


_She ain't missing, she's dead._

_People go missing around here, they're gone for good._

_Outsiders come where they don't want to walk. They bring trouble. They want to be left alone, and so does he._

A flood of emotions ran through Clay Miller like a freight train from his meeting with the woman. He wasn't even sure if he was able to think straight because of the words and the grim tone in her voice playing in his head aggressively.

Shock, grief, denial, despair, and determination. The freight train of emotions seeped through him hard enough that it felt like someone had punched a massive hole in his chest then continuously either stabbed or badly cut him in other places.

Shock because he hadn't expected to come all the way this way, only to hear that his sister, who had been missing for six weeks after coming to the area with some friends, could very likely be dead.

Grief because he couldn't deal with the thought of her being dead, given he already had suffered enough grief after his mother's death despite that he left her and Whitney for months, and if Whitney was dead too, the young man wouldn't be able to bear it.

Denial because he refused to believe Whitney was dead, even though it had been six weeks since he found out she had gone with friends in the area. Six weeks since she'd been missing. It was easier for him to convince himself that she was just missing, her being dead would be much harder for him to accept.

Despair because he could feel his hope slipping away from him right when the older woman's words came smacking him in the face, though he didn't want to believe it. It troubled him that he had come all this way, just to hear the words from the woman he spoke to just moments ago.

_No, she can't be dead_, he thought to himself. _Whitney has to be alive. And you can't give up on finding her, Clay._

Determination because the big brother in him now made him even more on his head to find his sister, preferably alive. Whatever bad news this place held in its seeds; he was determined to get her out of it.

He could feel a lump in his throat beginning to build, the thought of his missing sister Whitney being dead was enough to nearly choke him up. He swallowed hard, forcing himself not to cry. Whether Whitney was alive or not, he was more determined to find her than ever.

He couldn't deal with the fact that his sister could be dead. The past few months had already been rough enough on him after watching his mother slowly losing her life, then later him mourning over her death. Then, Whitney's absence for over a month was suspicious enough to Clay, even though he hadn't been there for her prior to their mother's death, something he deeply regretted.

He already had to live with the grief of losing his mother that still weighed heavily on his chest. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Whitney too.

Despite what the woman told him about the trouble and horrors that lied ahead, Clay wasn't so ready to give up and turn away. He knew Whitney was still out there, and he knew that finding her was his main mission. He knew that after he found her, he would apologize to her for leaving her and their dying mother. He hated himself for doing it, especially when she needed him.

After a long moment of staring at the front door in deep reflection, pain, and determination, he turned away from the house then headed back to his motorcycle. He knew exactly what mission he had in his head.

"Find Whitney, get the hell out of here," he told himself, his voice was firm.

He quickly got on his motorcycle, the determination in his eyes extremely prominent.

However, just for good measure and extra determination, he took out a sheet of paper from his backpack, taking a long moment to look at the picture of his younger sister. Her whole face was full of life, from the brightness of her eyes to the twinkle in her eyes. Oh, how he messed up big time when he chose to leave her and their dying mother alone. However, he knew this would be his chance to find Whitney and then to bring her home and apologize to her for making possibly one of the biggest mistakes in his life.

As much as Clay learned about how dangerous this place was and how no good it was, the first thing on his mind was Whitney. Having her die in a place like this scared him greatly, maybe profoundly, if that was a big enough word for him to use to describe his thoughts on his sister dying in a place like this. He would go to find her without an ounce of hesitation.

After what felt like moments to him, he put the missing poster back in his backpack then turned on the ignition of his motorcycle, a new form of determination was gleaming in his eyes. He made up his mind to disregard the old woman's words and not give up on his quest to find his sister, which he kept praying to himself that he would find her alive.

Even when he felt it slowly slipping away from him, Clay still held on to the thread of hope and no one could tell him otherwise.


End file.
